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4 Ways to Keep Your Feet Happy & Healthy

Taking proper care of your feet is a fabulous way to improve your overall health and to avoid foot and ankle injuries. In fact, taking good care of your feet will have the added benefits of keeping your knees, hips, and back in tiptop shape as well.

4 tips to keep your feet happy and healthy include the following:

Wearing properly fitted shoes—Since your feet have a natural tendency to become flatter and wider due to gravity as you age, make sure to have them properly measured each time you buy shoes to get the best fit. Your foot doctor can perform a computerized gait analysis to determine the best type of shoe and the appropriate orthotic inserts.

Using the correct arch supports—Proper arch support is crucial for proper foot health, and overpronation is one of the major causes of foot, ankle, knee, and back problems.

Doing strength and flexibility exercises—Flexibility and strengthening exercises are excellent for the health and happiness of your feet and ankles. Some of the best and easiest exercises include rolling your arches over a tennis or golf ball and picking up small objects like marbles with your toes. Calf exercises and ankle extensions can also help increase strength and flexibility and avoid injury.

Losing weight—Carrying extra pounds is compounded at the level of your feet and ankles since each pound effectively adds three additional pounds of stress and pressure. So losing those excess pounds is great therapy for the health and happiness of your feet.